A move to create an international cargo hub at Windsor International Airport got a major shot in the arm Thursday.
Windsor lawyer and cross-border expert Laurie Tannous was appointed to the position of CEO at the Institute for Border Logistics located on the airport property. It is a joint venture between the city and the University of Windsor.
“We want to make Windsor a world leader in cross border logistics and security," says Tannous.
It’s an investment between the feds and the city of $23-million to create a world-class centre for logistics, transportation, supply chain and security activities at the airport.
Fed Ex will be the anchor tenant, taking up 36,000 square feet of space. Now the Institute for Border Logistics is joining the mix.
Tannous says her primary goal is to find ways to help small and medium-sized businesses in Windsor-Essex navigate the border and attract new business to the region.
“Small businesses in this area have things to export, but they don't know how,” says Tannous. “We don't know what we're missing, until we know what we're missing."
The IBLS facility at Windsor airport will focus primarily on real-world testing for new technologies in the logistics sector.
Tannous says the first order of business is to pinpoint the barriers to business and trade and provide solutions - that's where the university comes in.
“We can do the research, but the IBLS is going to take that research and put it into action so it benefits some of the local firms," says Bill Anderson, Ontario research chair in cross-border transportation policy and director of the cross-border institute.
The new cargo hub and Institute for Border Logistics is expected to create about 100 jobs. and many spin-off jobs as businesses who use the services grow as a result.
